Employability portal - Plymouth Conservatoire

The job market has been impacted by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic but there are growth areas and potential opportunities to embrace.  The key to success in this kind of environment is flexibility, resilience, imagination and proactivity. Flexibility and adaptability, together with the energy that goes with those characteristics, are highly prized by employers.  

Be prepared to see yourself in a variety of employment situations rather than just one or two. Your dream job may be out there but it may take time to secure it.  The route to it may run through interim employments allowing you to gain experience and demonstrate your value to employers before you land your dream job.  

Performing arts graduates are highly adaptable people. The skill sets you have learned can be turned in a variety of different directions. Make a list of all the skills you have learned throughout your three years and see if there are job opportunities requiring those skills. You have learned how to bid for funding opportunities and pitch ideas – two qualities that many businesses and charities are investing in. You might not have seen yourself as having a career in charity grant writing but they are good jobs that offer real challenges that are fun and interesting. Meanwhile some traditional occupations for performing arts graduates including teaching are still in demand.  These jobs offer stability, career progression, job satisfaction and good pay.

Also, while you may not have seen yourself as an entrepreneur, the COVID crisis does create opportunities.  The breakdown of traditional market mechanisms has led to the emergence of all kinds of enterprises (services, deliveries, online businesses and catering) where people have identified a demand and a means to fill it.  Spot the gap, find the means to fill it, and the University can help build the skills around running and developing your own business.  As we begin to come out of lock-down there will be pent up demand for events and experiences that can offer opportunities to make money.  Performance opportunities and creative endeavours can grow from small beginnings and a “can do attitude” will get you further than you think in life.

Lastly, always remember there are two keys to uncertain times: resilience and resourcefulness. These characteristics require you to be diligent with your time, resourceful in your spending, and resilient in your spirit. You are dedicated, smart individuals and even if your ideal job is unavailable at the moment, find a company you like, pay those bills, and start making a difference!